This invention pertains to a shopping cart comprising a chassis, a basket supported by the chassis, and, as provided by this invention, a tray that can be selectively positioned within the basket selectively in a usage position or in a storage position. In the usage position, the tray can be advantageously used to hold fragile items, such as eggs, produce, or bakery goods.
A shopping cart of a type in widespread use in grocery stores and other retail establishments comprises a chassis, which has casters, and a basket, which is supported by the chassis. Conventionally, the basket is made from welded steel wires. Alternatively, the basket is made from molded plastic panels. Commonly, the basket is nestable into the basket of a similar cart. The basket may have a child seat. Additionally, the shopping cart may have a tray fixed to the chassis, below the basket.
When fragile items, such as eggs, produce, or bakery goods, are placed by a shopper into the basket, they are susceptible to damage caused by hard, large, or heavy items that may be later placed into the basket. A shopper may decide to place fragile items into a child seat, if one is provided and is not occupied by a child, or onto a tray below the basket, if one is provided. Commonly, however, neither a child seat nor a tray below the basket is available to receive fragile items that a shopper wants to protect against damage.
This invention provides, in a shopping cart comprising a chassis and a basket supported by the chassis and having a front wall and two side walls, a tray adapted to fit within the basket selectively in a usage position or in a storage position. The tray may be broadly characterized as hinged to the basket so as to enable the tray to be selectively positionable selectively in the usage position or in the storage position.
In a preferred embodiment, a hinge wire is mounted to the basket so as to extend across the basket, between the side walls, and extends through a hinge aperture of the tray so as to enable the tray to be selectively positionable selectively in the usage position or in the storage position.
Preferably, the hinge aperture is elongate and has two opposite ends, which become an upper end and a lower end respectively when the tray is positioned in the storage position when the tray is positioned in the usage position. The hinge wire is located at the upper end of the hinge aperture when the tray is positioned in the storage position. The tray rests against but does not extend above the front wall of the basket in the storage position.
Preferably, moreover, the hinge wire is spaced from the front wall of the basket by a given distance and the tray is arranged to extend below the hinge wire by a greater distance when the tray is positioned in the storage position. Consequently, when repositioning the tray from the storage position into the usage position, it is necessary to move the tray so as to displace the upper end of the hinge aperture from the hinge wire sufficiently to avoid interference between the tray and the front wall of the basket.
Preferably, the basket has a support projecting into the basket and adapted to engage the tray so as to stabilize the tray when positioned in the usage position, in which the tray is generally horizontal, and the tray is adapted to lean against the front wall of the basket when positioned in the storage position. Preferably, at least one of the front and side walls of the basket may have such a support. More preferably, at least one of the side walls of the basket has such a support, on which the tray rests when positioned in the usage position. Most preferably, each side wall of the basket has such a support, on which the tray rests when positioned in the usage position.
Desirably, the hinge aperture is one of two spaced apertures, which are similar to each other and which are spaced laterally from each other. Desirably, the tray is formed from welded steel wires, which include two elongate loops, each defining one of the hinge apertures.
In an alternative embodiment, the tray is foldable in either of the usage and storage positions, along an axis parallel to the front wall. The tray may be then hinged at the front wall of the basket so as to be selectively positionable in the usage position or in the storage position.
In the alternative embodiment, the basket may have at least one support, which supports the tray in the usage position. Preferably, the basket has two supports, one at each side wall, which support the tray in the usage position.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention are evident from the following description of the preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.